How carefully are your bank statements scrutinezed? (Income question)

[WorkingItOut]

I don't think Flamingo was saying that the whole process of BK was common sense, but many things like this should be regardless of filing. If you have to prove income, show bank statements or some sort of financials, it will be looked at. Now to know how far they will go into looking at it, depends..no one would know that because each case is different.

The part I bolded is really what I was trying to get at. I KNOW they are going to look at my bank statements. I do have enough common sense to know that they aren't going to ask for something and then not even look at it, in most cases. I am just trying to figure out how big of a red flag this issue will be, and what other people experienced and how (or if) they were able to explain the issue so that it didn't hurt them.

Please don't take what I am saying the wrong way or as being snide...any documentation provided in the legal world will be "scrutinized" - that is why it was requested...be prepared to explain anything listed on that documentation, from a deposit of $.02 to the $1,000 or more withdrawal. Don't assume anything. There is no reason to be terrified, just informed. No one is telling anyone they are stupid or emotional - handle providing documentation as you would providing information to anyone - be ready to explain your case/situation. Many times the documentation is asked for and never reviewed - what I am trying to get across is that you just don't know if that will happen so go over every detail in anything provided and be ready to explain. We were asked about many deposits/withdrawals/charges, small and large. We also had to provide a full explanationof any deposit over a certain amount and a full explanation of any withdrawal or check written over a certain amount. Don't assume they will not question anything else no matter what the amount is - be ready with an answer. The worst thing to do during banruptcy is to "assume" anything will or will not be looked at and/or questioned. That is where common sense falls in....if you are questioning it yourself, others can question the same thing. The more you look at something with common sense, the more you are protecting yourself.

Best of luck to you...

Thank you! Honestly, this is what I wanted to know. I do appreciate your help.

Motto for today: QTIP..Quick taking it personally.

It's all good.

[WorkingItOut]

We do get it, WIO - that's why we all need this forum in addition to the Nolo books. There's a lot more going on than research; this here is THERAPY. This is about the scariest process most of us can imagine, and almost nobody has ever done it before.

I had a ton of little deposits; I was cashing checks for a music teacher friend with no bank account. Yeah, dumb, I know, but who does it hurt, right? And who EVER dreamed anyone would take an interest in my pathetic little checking account? And then there were the little sales on Amazon and Ebay, and dribs and drabs here and there. Totally insignificant sums of money, but they WERE deposits.

So let's see...how did I deal with the little deposits once I realized how that could look to a trustee? I'll tell you how: I worried about them. I lost a LOT of sleep over them. My brain, which is actually quite functional as a rule, calmly continued troubleshooting javascript and translating Middle French and balancing my checkbook by day, and then spinning spinning spinning uselessly all night over details over which I had no control.

The lesson I've learned is that your financial life on paper simply is what it is, and all you can do is be sure that IT is legal, justifiable, and documented. Keep good records - obsess over that, if you need to obsess over something (I sure did!).

I was incredibly lucky - nobody cared in the least, and I didn't need to explain myself. If I had needed to explain, though, I had the documentation to back it up, and the very worst thing anyone might have concluded (including a trustee) would have been that I wasn't managing my finances very well. I'm thinking this would have come as no surprise to anyone in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Nobody here, whatever they might say, ever really forgets what it's like to be in the throes of what you're going through right now. Every "stupid" question you bring here keeps you from making a "stupid" mistake that one of us has already made for you. Keep asking, and all the best to you. You'll get through it.

Great post! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[Cali]

We had some deposits during our 6 month look back, one of the deposits was for 5k and no one said anything.

ETA: When you've spent most of your working life dealing with attorneys and financial types you learn quick what can and will be looked at closely.

[liz417]

Great Post WoodSprite!

WorkingItOut:
Yes, we've all been there and stressed over every little details, but my advise is to read, read, read. The more informed you are, the less stress you'll have (applies to most posters).

Good Luck to you!